Must blog about this

It's the dinner/homework/craziness hour at my house. The last thing I need to be doing is blogging, but I accidentally stumbled on this article and I thought I should share it with all my loyal friends and family in case anyone is still looking for a birthday or Christmas present for me. Take a look at this and imagine the possibilities!

Sisters' Try-athlon

Let me begin by saying that my sister Cathy is a rock! Some time ago, she decided she'd like to try doing a triathlon. However, she wasn't sure she wanted to get a bunch of expensive equipment or buy cool triathlon clothes, etc. She wanted to just "try" it. So, we sort of planned a sisters' try-athlon (my term, not hers). She and I trained throughout the summer, but clearly she trained more intensely. I was at a bit of a handicap with no pool, but she practiced pretty faithfully. So, today was the big day. She swam a full 1/2 mile in her pool. That's 84 lengths of her backyard pool! You go, girl! I swam 28 just to support her and have wet hair with her. We then biked for about 10.2 miles. Then we ran/walked for 3.1 miles. We were pretty pleased with ourselves! And look, we were even smiling and looking good at the end.
Now, let me clarify that we didn't time ourselves changing clothes in the street -- we went in her house to change out of our swimsuits. We swam in a pool -- not open water. But we didn't bike with super cool light as a feather road bikes -- we used our mountain bikes. And we did this as novices, not as well-trained racing machines. We did it and we did it well for us!

As I was running, I was thinking about the fact that every day there are lots of people who exercise way, way more than we did today. However, I also thought that there are those who do less. The reality is that our experience was never about an absolute target. It wasn't about beating a bunch of other people (although Dale points out that I came in first in my age group and second overall.) It was about challenging ourselves, reaching a goal, seeing what we could do, seeing if we liked it, and spending time together. Without question, we reached our goal.

This was always primarily Cathy's goal -- and she did it so well! I'm so proud of her. But I want to publicly thank her for a whole lot of motivation this summer. I went on some beautiful bike rides with her, including the one we did today. I got out of bed and went running multiple times this summer, just because I knew I had to face her! I pushed myself, and I accomplished the task. After the fact, it's fun to say you did it. Oh, and I can eat dessert this weekend without one hint of guilt. Thanks, Cathy! And may we continue to stay active together! Love you!

Treasure in the basement

My friends Brooke and Margot came today to can peaches. Before starting, I tried to clear off the counter in the lab downstairs. It was covered with Daniel's project stuff. Among his things, I found a 4x6 index card folded in half. On the front were written the words "The All-Knowing Index Card." That alone made me laugh, but Margot was quick to point out that there were more words on the back. They were as follows:

How to Use the All-Knowing Index Card
1. Ask question.
2. Hit self in forehead.
3. Say "Dooby-Dooby-do" twice.
4. Count to four.
5. Open the All-Knowing Index card.

When you open the card, it's blank. Perhaps if you've done the other steps, something magical happens when you open it. I don't know for sure because I didn't follow all the steps, but I can say it was magical for me. Finding things like that remind me of the great fun it is to have Daniel for a son! He makes me smile, even when he's nowhere around. And, really, I now have an All-Knowing Index Card. How cool is that????

A final summer adventure

I really don't like seeing summer end so I just keep having fun as long as I can! Our family went to the Olympic Park in Park City to ride the zipline and the alpine slide. I was trying to be so brave 'cause Daniel was a little nervous. I was fine till we got off the chairlift and found ourselves looking down the zipline. You sit in a chair-like harness then press your knees up against a metal door that will open when it's time to go. It's not natural - it shouldn't be natural to press yourself against any kind of wall that you know is going to open and send you flying down a cable. I was a little hesitant to get strapped up, but sweet Cheyenne looked over (with her face pressed against the door) and said, "It's okay, Mom. I've done it before!" (Do I need to remind her of the infamous Tower of Terror photo??) So, Daniel and I closed our eyes and the door opened. Surprisingly, you just headed down the cable, and it was a blast! We don't have pictures because the camera was pressed up against Dale's door and he just couldn't get to it.

After the zipline we hit the alpine slide. Cheyenne climbed in the first car. I said I wanted to go first so I could watch her come down. "Well, I want to watch you come down," she said. How do you argue with that? So, she went first and I followed at an appropriately long distance. When I did catch up with her, she had a very large black mark all down her back and leg. Apparently at some point she fell out of her car, at least enough to scrape along. She didn't want to share details but she wished she could go again -- immediately! Gotta love her! And I've gotta give Daniel all kinds of props for doing something scary and loving it!!

The rides we went on were great, but after seeing that ski jump up close, that's a whole new category of crazy! I won't be blogging about a ride on that!

I will say I recommend it all and I'm grateful for an awesome family to share it with. May summer never end!!!

I must have eaten too much sushi

For anyone who doesn't know, I have had an underactive thyroid for many years. It's not a big deal, it just means I take synthroid daily. Well, over the last month, I've had a couple of blood tests done that showed my thyroid is a little out of whack. Yesterday, I had a doctor's appointment and he officially diagnosed me with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. Those are both big words. "Itis" mean enlarged, of course, and with the Hashimoto part, it made me wonder if that meant my neck was enlarged from swallowing a large piece of sushi. But, thanks to the internet, I discovered that's not the case. It continues to not be a big deal. Mostly, it just means they have to check my blood a little more often and adjust the dosage occasionally. And, fortunately, I can still eat all the sushi I want.

However, I'd like to milk this a little bit. Some of the symptoms include sensitivity to cold. Hmm, has anyone been around me lately, like at church where I've occasionally resorted to taking disposable hand warmers to accompany my sweater/coat? It also causes fatigue. Hmm, doesn't sleep apnea, being Cheyenne's and Daniel's mom, and nearly everything else in my life cause fatigue??? I think I might use it for a good excuse when exercising is hard, though. Oh, and it has been known to affect fertility. Enough said.

Gotta love your children

Two great Cheyenne quotes for this week.

Last night she was standing behind me. She said, "Mom, your hair is turning white!" "Yes, it is," I said. "You're turning into a grandma!!!" Your kids are so good at humbling you! However, I will digress long enough to take this chance to congratulate my sister Cathy who is going to become a grandma for real sometime tonight or tomorrow.

Today, we were talking about riding the Alpine slide in Park City. Cheyenne said, "When I go down it, I'm going to scream like a boy!"

That Wilde Reunion

Let me start by saying that at some point I'll get caught up and my blog will start being in chronological order again, but for now, please just go with me.  My life isn't in order most days, so I think my blog should also reflect that disorder, right?

So, let's talk about the Wilde Family Reunion.  This is absolutely one of the highlights of the year for me.  I love the Wilde family, I love the fun things we do, I love the memories.  This year was especially great because Dale's sister Susan, her husband Neil, and their four boys were all here.  It's been three years since they moved to North Carolina, so they are not always with us.  They were all here this year which added to the fun.  

This year's reunion (August 15-16) was basically brought to us courtesy of my sister Colleen.  She was extraordinarily generous in sharing her home/pool in Draper for a morning swim followed by the sharing of her cabin for an overnight stay up in the mountains.  THANKS SO MUCH!  We partied in the pool, we visited the Olympic Park in Park City (home of 2002 Olympic events like bobsled, luge, and ski jump competitions), we hiked, we ate a lot, we did puzzles, played games, visited, and generally enjoyed each other's company.  While we took lots of pictures, I've chosen these to highlight the madness of the pool, the group

 shot to prove we were really there, and the one of LuDea

n holding the snake just because LuDean was holding a snake!  I love her!

We see each other a lot of other times of the year, but there's something special about this time.  It's become a treasured time for me to see the rest of the family, to catch up, to make new memories, and to remind me how much I love them all.  I look forward to many more to come!

Sisters Hiking

The adventuring just never ends....  Last weekend began with a Friday hike to the top of Mt. Timpanogos with my sisters.  It's tough to say what the motivation was for this one.  It's been 23 years or so since I last did it, and I think about as long for Cathy.   It's only been 2 for Colleen.  She's the one I question the most since she knew what she was getting into.  For those familiar with the routes, we went up on the Aspen Grove trail which begins in Provo Canyon.  We came down on the Timpanooeke trail which ends up in American Fork Canyon.  It was fun to do both trails because they have really different scenery (and because we got to see them both on what may be our last hike up that mountain!).  Partly I think we did it because we can.  The three of us are always trying to push each other a little to stay healthy and active.  We wanted to be the 40-something women showing our kids we can still do it.  And partly we did it because it's beautiful.  It's tough to describe all the waterfalls, all the vistas, just the beauty of the mountains.  If you're interested, click here to see an album of the pictures I took on the trail.

Our route took us over about 14 miles and up and down about 3,500 feet.   The mountain is about 11,000 feet high, but the trailheads are high as well.  We were gone for about 11.5 hours, with 1.5 of that spent resting for lunch and observation at the top.  Overall, I was pretty darn proud of all of us!

Thanks, Cathy and Colleen, for a fun day and awesome travel companions!  I hope we can always enjoy times like this together.